


From the Ground, Up

by mildewonrice



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Nightmares, One Year Timeskip, Panic Attacks, Post Good End, Spoilers, Sunny Returns to Faraway Town, Sunny Selective Mutism, they got therapy guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:34:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29247351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mildewonrice/pseuds/mildewonrice
Summary: From that fateful day in the hospital on, Sunny had finally found himself on solid ground, and there was nowhere to go but up. It's difficult, fighting against four years of crippling, destructive normalcy, but he was finally making steady progress.Still, his ties to his best friends could not, should not be simply forgotten. He wanted to include them in his new life's construction, the future seemed promising, he was ready to try.And there was one person in particular he wanted to see smile again.
Relationships: Aubrey & Basil & Hero & Kel & Sunny (OMORI), Basil/Sunny (OMORI)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 231





	From the Ground, Up

_“I-it’s nice to see you again, Sunny. It really is.”_

* * *

When Sunny’s mom had insisted he return to Faraway Town after just over a year, he had almost wanted to chain himself down to his bed and never get up again. It was an odd reaction, he thought. Slowly his doctor and therapist had been chipping away at the wall he’d built around himself all those years ago, and he couldn’t think of any particular grievance that would stop him from going. It was just this feeling, this familiar storm welling in his chest. Something he could name now: _anxiety._

He thought it may be fear of his friends' reactions, the idea of seeing them again after that long day at the hospital last year. Their opinions of Sunny weren’t a mystery to him anymore, though. His therapist had helped him deconstruct that one. They couldn’t hate him if they were taking the time to send him get-well-soon cards. They couldn’t hate him if they were going out of their way to message him thoughtful holiday texts. They certainly didn’t hate him with the way those forms of contact were building over time, card signings evolving into short messages, which were soon turning into descriptive, emotional letters. 

They didn’t write too much, and they all seemed to feel slightly differently about him, but they certainly couldn’t hate him. He kept mementos of them by his bedside, on top of a precious photo album. The cards carefully propped up, he didn’t eat or drink alone in his room anymore out of fear he would accidentally damage something. That was another push in his recovery though, spending more time with mom. Eating with her, helping her make dinner. There was only so much time he could spend around others without feeling overwhelmed, especially those who knew his secret, but he found that period of time was slowly extending.

The only issue though, his mother’s new idea. Sunny had always had a difficult time making friends. He went to school now, three days a week, but he could never properly put on that facade of normalcy. Couldn’t open his mouth or share his experiences. _“I have a good idea,”_ mom had posed several nights ago, _“why don’t you go back to Faraway Town for a couple days? Socialize a bit?”_

At first, she had brought it up as just a half-hearted hypothetical. He had gotten into a pretty bad fight the last time he was there. She didn't act on it for a while, but soon Sunny's chronic loneliness became too much for her. She made a couple calls, somehow getting in touch with Polly. After a long talk, it had been decided, Sunny would be able to stay with her and an old friend of his for a couple days. 

The truth was, there was one person where the cognitive distortions had been difficult to fully shake. Reasonings of his absence as explained by Sunny’s therapist couldn’t dull the pain he felt from the lack of communication, the inability to hear the boy’s voice or see his smile.

Sunny couldn’t even trust headspace to fill the void, it had disintegrated following the events of last year. 

_He has good reason not to talk to me. It doesn’t mean he hates me, he never hated me._

The words felt unnatural as they formulated in his mind. Communicating with himself more had been...odd. Especially when said communication was actually positive. 

Sunny had watched the countryside fly by on the train, a familiar photo album clutched in hand, ready to face his fears.

Sunny had listened to some familiar songs on the trip over, he wondered if the person on his mind still listened to the same tracks.

He had expressed a rare smile as he stepped into the station, feeling oddly calm as the cool breeze hit his face. 

* * *

“Do you...still take your tea with milk and sugar?”

It was happening now, and Sunny could still barely process it.

Basil had answered the door, he had greeted him. He said he had missed him. Sunny had less of a difficult time reading his best friend than others, it seemed he had meant it. His new looks had immediately struck him, the anxiety dissipating somewhat as he saw the circles under Basil’s eyes had mostly faded away, his blonde hair was a lighter shade, his skin was less pale. It struck him all at once, he wondered if he had felt the same way about him, one of his friend’s first comments had been that he looked healthier.

“Sunny?” 

He realized the blonde boy was now looking at him from the kitchen, tea mug still in one hand, the other fidgeting with his sleeve. How long had he been staring into space?

It took him a second to regain himself. Sunny nodded, shifting in his chair, then raised his hand to signal _‘two’_. 

Basil smiled warmly at him before turning back to the counter. Sunny watched the steam from the kettle rise and fall in the air. There was nothing that needed to be said aloud, no fight that needed to be had, no pain they could only take out on each other, it felt like he had been transported home, like the way they used to interact before. He felt a pleasant sensation in his chest, an enthusiasm he only really associated with Basil.

_“Have you ever considered you might...see him as more than a friend?”_

Sunny shook his head, running a hand through his jet black hair. He didn’t want to think about this right now, Basil had an uncanny ability to know what was off with him...at least he used to. He knew considering his therapist’s words in his presence would just give him away. 

At that time, it had taken him a few minutes to process. He had stared at her with a quizzical look. _‘More than a friend? Well it’s whatever you’d feel towards someone who was literally an accomplice to you, who you’d tried and failed to save from your mind’s ‘darkness’ countless times. How would you feel about someone like that, Joanna?’_ Omori had responded curtly, he never ceased with the quips...or rather, Sunny didn’t...the line between them felt more and more blurred nowadays. Of course, out loud, Sunny had just opened his mouth to find no sound was able to escape.

Sunny jumped a bit, realizing the blonde occupying his mind had just carefully pulled the chair across from him out, gently placing two mugs of tea on the table, before taking his seat. The squeaking of the chair across the floor the only thing filling the silence, until Basil spoke:

“Haha...I...I hope you like the tea!” A sinking feeling had returned, Sunny tilted his head to the side, eyeing the other boy through the mist rising from cups in front of them. 

Basil studied him for a second before responding, “Oh, no! Everything’s okay with me…” he trailed off for a second, letting out a long sigh as he fidgeted with his own tea mug, before looking back at Sunny again: “I’m...not really supposed to say t-things like t-that a-anymore. I-” he let out a huff, clearly frustrated with himself. Sunny remembered when they were kids, and Basil would vent about how insecure his stutter made him. This seemed a little different, though.

“I...I feel bad. About not t-talking to you. I-it’s been a long time.” Basil leaned over his tea, looking into the ceramic blue mug thoughtfully.

In response, Sunny lifted his own tea and took a sip. Basil looked up, anticipating his response. There were just enough additives to dull the bitter taste, Sunny gave a thumbs up.

Basil giggled a little despite his previous nervousness, and Sunny felt that familiar warm feeling returning.

“I...I’m glad y-you’re not mad. I, the truth is I...wasn’t…” he took a shaky breath, taking a sip from his own cup to steady himself before resuming, “I wasn’t ready to see you again, before. Or talk. N-now, though, I’ve improved. I’ve gotten h-help.”

Sunny watched him as he spoke. This more blunt tone the other boy had, it seemed new, and yet it also didn’t. He liked it, Basil seemed more relaxed. He took a second to gather himself, finding the words spilling out quicker than they normally did:

“Me too.”

Wide, sky blue eyes looked at him in awe for a second, Sunny couldn’t tell what the other boy was thinking, but gladly returned the gaze. They stayed like that for a few seconds, before Basil blinked and broke the stare, collecting himself and picking up his tea.

“Well!” Basil placed the mug down abruptly. He seemed nervous again, and Sunny didn’t want him to be nervous. He reached a hand out towards his hair, aiming to adjust the flower accessory in it. Sunny remembered when they were kids, Basil had always liked it when people played with his hair, it calmed him down. He remembered the failed side braid he had tried to make for him, how the shorter boy had praised him for trying anyways. _If we...become good friends again...I’d like to try and get it right this time._

But Sunny’s response had only seemed to worsen Basil’s peculiar reaction. He noticed the tips of his ears going red as he pulled away, voice rising defensively, “Wha- What are you doing?”

Sunny immediately lowered his hand back to the table and shook his head, feeling a pang of hurt. _Basil seems...more relaxed now. But I should have thought more before doing something like that. I’m honestly not sure...after everything...if he’s okay with me being close to him like that. I’m stupid, bad. Why don’t I ever think? And even wanting to make gestures like that, is this the ‘more than friends’ thing she was referring to? I don’t even know if we’re friends again, let alone more than-_

No, FOCUS.

“Hey Sunny? I-I’m sorry.”

Sunny looked up to find Basil had stood at this point, and was eyeing him with that familiar expression of gentle concern, his hands folded and a long thread of hair partially obscuring his face.

“You were just trying to help, I didn’t mean to respond like that. I guess just...after everything…” he pushed the strand of blonde hair behind one ear, looking away as if concentrating on something far off, “I can still react p-pretty nervously to things sometimes.”

Sunny nodded, he’d be more careful about sudden movements from now on.

Basil looked as if lost in thought again for a second, before reaching towards Sunny’s hand and carefully taking it in his own, willing him to stand. Sunny maintained his neutral expression as it happened, but his head felt light and feathery. 

“Here, follow me. I-I want to show you something.”

Sunny felt an amount of happiness he wasn’t used to upon seeing the hallway, there were way more pictures than the last time he’d been here. The tea green walls were lined with them, each printed photograph spaced and taped up carefully. They were mostly new, pictures of the lake hideout, flowers blooming in spring, and even…

Basil smiled and nodded upon seeing Sunny’s reaction to the ones in the center. They were recently taken, photos of Aubrey, Hero, Kel, and Basil at their old hangout spots. Sunny felt immensely relieved.

“T-they forgave me as well. It took a while...but, they started inviting me places. I’d b-be lying if I said everything is perfectly okay n-now, but it's a start.”

* * *

“Are you o-okay with sleeping in h-here? I...I’d understand if you don’t want to…”

Sunny stood in a familiar room coated in blue. The day had continued to float by like a light breeze, but a chilling wind wafted in from a singular open window, and muddled emotions had begun to creep back to the surface.

Basil looked fearful again as he set up blankets on the floor, his face hidden beneath pieces of long blonde hair. He knelt for a second on the ground, staring at his set up, before adjusting the pink flower on his head and standing again.

Sunny briefly thought about an escape route, he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering to it. There was a magnetic pull towards the other boy, he just wanted to smooth out the tension and make everything okay, but he couldn’t stop that storm from resurfacing, the twinge of anxiety in his stomach.

He wasn’t sure how to answer, at this point Basil had stopped smoothing out the bedspread and was occasionally stealing glances at him, trying to read him for any slight motion that would signal a response to his previous question. 

“I could s-set this up on the couch i-instead…” Basil let out a sigh, “I-I know...this place...the last t-time you were here-”  
The flower boy grabbed his wool sleeve, he was shaking a little, Sunny noticed. He let out another carefully calculated breath as he regained himself. Sunny felt guilt swimming in his gut, maybe it was too soon. Maybe he should have gone home earlier, maybe they weren’t ready to be together, here, again.

But Sunny didn’t want his best friend to feel this way. He didn’t know if he could go another year without seeing him, he felt that at this point, they’d need to work to fix things. Time could only give them so much. The darkness around him felt as if it were contorting as he deliberated on what to do next.

He shook his head, a slight smile emerging in his vacant expression. He’d always wanted to be warm like Basil. He just wanted to make people comfortable, like he did. He had this sincerity and kindness to his presence, despite everything. He tried to smile for him, and took a step forward, the floorboards creaking beneath him in acknowledgement.

Sunny motioned carefully for the other boy to give him his hand. It took a second for Basil to process what he was doing, his eyes wide and face softened by awe. He still didn’t understand why Basil viewed him like that, he looked as though entranced. Sunny had only ever seen himself as below average, invisible, someone that should be glossed over, and still Basil had always looked at him in that way. 

Basil gently put his hand in his. Sunny felt a pang at the fact that there were still slight tremors coming from him. He tried to make eye contact, squeezing his hand in an attempt to get his message across.

_I’m not leaving. If you’ll have me, I don’t want to leave you again._

His heart leapt a little at Basil’s response, the other boy reached out slowly after holding his gaze for a second, and pushed a strand of Sunny’s dark hair behind his ear. The taller boy hoped his embarrassment at the gesture wasn’t coming off in his expression as Basil pulled away with a smile. 

“Ah...I...I’m glad it’s okay,” he seemed a bit more stable now. Sunny found it hard to focus on the words he was saying, the mental image of Basil touching his hair replaying over and over in his mind. The indigo toned room suddenly felt overtaken by a new, warm scheme. A sacred place where unease disintegrated. 

Basil moved away, towards a tall lamp in the corner, he turned it on, and a pleasant pale gold filled the space. 

_“Sunny! I-it’s okay...I’ll just keep the l-light on, will that help? I get n-nightmares too...it can be kinda hard to fall asleep with it on, but I’ll stay here with you until you feel better.”_

_“You...won’t leave?”_

_“I won’t. I promise.”_

Sunny yearned for that again, the cozy sleepovers, the two of them just getting to be together and be themselves. The old floor sang as he took another step forward, the black haired guest admiring the plants lining the right wall, their leaves sparkling in the light’s glow and fluttering slightly from the draft.

Basil seemed to have a spring in his step again, he noticed Sunny admiring his plants and slowly began to lose himself in an info dump about his florae choices. Sunny sat down carefully on the boy’s bed. _Very comfortable, not too soft, not too firm, at least a solid 9.5 out of 10._

Soon several minutes had passed peacefully. Basil gave a quick wave of his hand, signalling he had become self conscious about how long he had been speaking. His voice faded out quietly with an airy laugh. Sunny hadn’t heard him talk like that in so long, he could feel his heart soaring, a soft, floaty feeling carrying his mind away into space.

* * *

_Welcome to black space._

_You’ve been trying to make it through here for as long as you can remember._

_You are close, your journey is nearing its end._

_But progressing alone is impossible._

Omori had awoken after that day in summer. He thought he had died, completely fallen apart in the hands of his alter, but he had simply been reset. He now had a journey to make, an expedition that had to be endured for the sake of them both.

The hellish underbelly of their psyche had always been a dreaded place, but it felt almost dreamlike now. Most of Sunny’s nightmares were experienced in a muddled darkness. There was nothing particularly painful about this place, for the most part. It felt more like a chore to explore, it bored Omori. He had to continue on, though. There was nowhere else to go. What needed to be processed was the fragile structure underpinning them. Maybe, they could rebuild once they made it to the bottom. Maybe someday, a new headspace could be constructed. 

Omori’s self felt blurry, formless. He continued walking on through a dark, shallow sea. Indigo windows hung in the air, partially obscured in the haze of a roaring ocean wind. 

_It’s cold here. How annoying. And my time for tonight, it’s almost up._

He sat down in the lapping, frigid water, feeling a chill shoot up his spine.

Omori no longer had his knife.

Omori knew to simply rest, there was no need to end his days with such violence anymore, it had always been crude, anyways. 

_Unable to progress alone. I’m not sure what that means, still. I think I had been looking for someone, I know they exist again, in this space. Maybe this is a problem only Sunny can solve._

With an unexpected start, Sunny woke.

It took him a second to process where he was, the room’s yellow illumination felt alien.

_Right. I slept over at Basil’s house. Things...seem like they’re going to be okay again. Everything will-_

He suddenly realized what had stirred him out of a dream he couldn’t recall.

Sitting up slowly from the floor, he took in the noise. Someone was…

Sunny stood immediately. Basil was sitting up in bed, there were several blankets discarded, crumpled down on the floor. He was hugging the remaining one tightly to his chest and rocking back and forth, trembling and muttering something quickly and incomprehensibly under his breath.  
Sunny staggered a little, holding his head which now felt as though detached. There was nothing to ground him and he almost slipped before regaining his balance. The old house squeaked loudly under his weight. He made his way to Basil, regaining some semblance of a sound mind after the initial terrifying sight. He tried to move slowly, remembering in his daze Basil’s aversion to sudden motions. 

He put a hand gently on his shoulder. He could see through blurry vision that the tiny flower boy’s eyes were wide in terror, obscured again by long, tangled blonde threads. He looked...gone...far away. _Is this what...I looked like...when…_

FOCUS. Of all times, this was the most important time of all to FOCUS.

He inhaled deeply. If he could say something. If the words could come out calming, grounding. _Speak. Please, please speak. I need to speak. Just let me-_

The block in his throat succumbed. Sunny felt a whirlwind of despair sweeping him. 

PERSIST. Of all times, it was now that he needed to PERSIST.

Sunny sat down at the edge of the bed, at Basil’s feet. The pale figure beside him had curled his knees up, clinging tightly to them and to the remaining pastel comforter. 

A full minute dragged by with Sunny’s hand holding lightly onto a trembling Basil’s shoulder. The tremors sent shockwaves up his arm. He suddenly remembered his dream, the black sea, the ferocious waves pushing and pulling. The feeling of water filling his lungs and slowly drowning…

CALM DOWN. We’ve almost made it out, I can see him coming back to me.

The wind howling in his ears began to diminish. There was nothing in this room but a light draft, a breeze which gently pushed Basil’s hair out of his face. His eyes were now flitting around between Sunny and the surroundings of the room. He was still breathing shallowly, but the shaking had begun to halt. Stopping and starting in bursts, becoming less violent.

Basil locked eyes with Sunny, they were wide for a few moments before he closed them, lowering his head in what appeared like relief. He moved a hand to Sunny’s on his shoulder, brushing it off.

“God...I-I’m. I-I’m s-sorry…” there was a sharp edge to his inflection, he seemed to still be processing what was going on. The amount of raw emotion in his best friend’s tone stabbed through Sunny, tearing his stoic demeanor apart. Before he could stop it, a rare moment of tears began to seize him.

Basil lowered the blanket, slowly letting it go and relaxing his posture. Sunny still remained beside him, waiting for a sign that he needed support of some kind, any kind. Basil looked down at the greenish floorboards as he continued his thought, “this d-doesn’t happen a-all the t-time. J-just sometimes. W-when I-I’m sleeping. It..I-it’s…” he put a hand to his mouth, clearly trying to repress a whimper.

Sunny hesitated for a moment. Was hugging okay in this scenario? He felt the weight of his best friend’s despair on him, the sorrow filling him up and overflowing. He tested the waters, putting another hand gently on the side of his arm, when Basil grasped onto it immediately, he took that as the signal.

He embraced the other boy in a hug, burying his head into his shoulder, jet black hair obscuring his eyes as he sensed himself breaking apart. He felt as though he were collapsing inwards, a dam bursting at the seams. The person against him seemed to melt into the hug immediately as well, he coughed a little, as if finally breathing fully again.

_It hurts, still. I’m trying, but it hurts._

“I-it hurts, s-still. I-I’m t-trying…”

Basil gripped tightly onto the back of Sunny’s shirt as he began to tremble in a long overdue sob. Outside an orange hue began to rise, morning breaking through the barrier. 

* * *

Sunny watched the dust sparkle in the light streaming in from the train window.

Sunny uncurled his knees from his chest and let his feet rest on the cool gray floor.

He watched the countryside gradually fade from view, tall white buildings starting out sparse and slowly taking over the horizon. 

_“I-I know you have to leave today. Can we just stay like this for five more minutes?”_

Sunny had spent that dawn curled up under wrinkled, floral pattern quilts with his best friend. He couldn’t remember the last time his head had felt so clear, there were no background processes, no thunderstorm crashing down. He was really just _there_. Completely present as the only noises he could hear were the birds beginning to flock together outside and the sound of Basil’s breath gradually changing as he drifted off into sleep.

_“I don’t w-want to be selfish. I-I don’t want you to feel like I need you. I-I don’t want to suffocate you again.”_

Sunny pressed one hand against the frayed glass, it was warm to the touch. He thought about what to do now. What to say to mom when she inevitably asked how his trip went. _‘Oh yeah, pretty mundane. Just cried in the arms of my totally-not-crush and cuddled a little, and am now totally clueless as to where to go with this next. How was your weekend, mother?’_ Sunny giggled inwardly, he wished he could summon the courage to voice his alter’s responses, but it was likely he’d just awkwardly raise a thumbs up and soundlessly mouth a _“good.”_

_I’m really fidgeting with this again._ Sunny clutched the note in one jacket pocket, unfolding and refolding the crinkled paper. He wondered when he would get a call. Sunny had wanted to adopt some plants soon after he returned home. He’d never been...the greatest at maintaining responsibility, so he was hoping his friend would call soon, whenever the blonde boy was ready. Figure out how to set something up in his apartment’s collaborative garden, or even just have something to help liven up his new home. 

_“I-I’ll call you when I’m ready again,” Sunny had admired the courage in Basil’s response, the other boy had always been so quick to accept the whims of others, he thought. He had always wondered why he never hesitated to stick up for him, and yet had no reservations when it came to giving up his own self. “I need some more time, but s-soon, I’ll be ready to talk for real.”_

_Ready to talk for real._

Sunny stepped off the train at his stop, the array of stimuli in his surroundings not deterring him as much as usual. He brushed past several strangers, wondered where they were going, where they had been. He pondered what it would be like to reach out and speak to them, to finally open his mouth and share his experiences. 

_Funny, I’ve never really thought about that before._

He stood for a second on the platform, taking in the whirl of the station, the crossroads that entranced him. The early summer gust caught him for a second before settling again. For once, he was excited for change. 

Sunny readjusted himself, taking in the sight of the nearby inground tracks one last time before departing. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'd like to write more OMORI content in the future, particularly post-good end stuff, but it depends on what I feel like doing! This is my first post on Ao3! Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
